The Three Heads of the Well

Long ago, a king lived in the town of Colchester with his kind and gentle daughter. One day, the king married a new queen, who had a daughter of her own. The new queen and her daughter were grumpy and unkind, and they did not like the princess at all. So the princess decided to go out into the world and seek her fortune.

The queen gave her a little bag with nothing but brown bread, hard cheese, and a bottle of water. The princess said thank you, and off she went down the road. Soon she met an old man sitting on a stone by the road. “Good morning, my dear,” he said. “What do you have in your bag?” “Only bread and cheese and water,” said the princess, “but you are welcome to share it.” So they sat together and ate, and the old man thanked her.

“Up ahead, you will find a thick hedge,” he said. “Tap it three times with this stick and ask it nicely, and it will let you through.” “Then you will come to a well, and there you must do whatever you are asked.”

The princess tapped the hedge three times, and the branches opened like a door. On the other side, she found an old stone well. As she peeked inside, up came a golden head, singing a little song. “Wash me and comb me, and lay me down softly,” sang the golden head. So the princess gently lifted it out, washed its face, combed its hair, and laid it on a soft green bank. Then a second golden head came up, and then a third, and she did the same for each one.

“She is so kind,” said the first head. “Let her be lovely, inside and out.” “Let her voice be as sweet as a nightingale’s,” said the second. “Let her marry a great king,” said the third. And all three wishes came true, for soon a young king rode by, heard her singing, and asked her to marry him.

When the queen’s daughter heard about this, she set off to the well too. But she would not share her food with the old man, and she pushed rudely through the prickly hedge. At the well, she splashed the golden heads and laughed at them. So her face came out in spots, her voice turned croaky like a frog’s, and she married a poor cobbler.

The cobbler was a kind man, though, and he found a soothing cream that made her spots go away. She learned to be gentle and kind, and they lived happily mending shoes together. And the princess and her young king lived happily ever after too.